


lights will guide you home

by reciprocityfic



Category: DC Extended Universe, Wonder Woman (Movies - Jenkins), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reciprocityfic/pseuds/reciprocityfic
Summary: he falls half in love with her the first time he sees her skate.***steve trevor, a player on his university's club hockey team, helps run the school's ice rink when it's open to the public in december.  he expects it to be another boring year, until he meets a figure skater who just might change his life.
Relationships: Diana (Wonder Woman)/Steve Trevor
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	lights will guide you home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Spacecadet72](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacecadet72/gifts).



> hi! this fic was written for spacecadet72 as part of the wondertrev secret santa gift exchange run by wondertrevnet over on tumblr. ice skating is my favorite holiday activity, but because of covid i haven't been able to go :/ so i decided the best way to make up for it would be to write a fic where out lovelies skate!
> 
> this was fun to write! hope you like it, spacecadet72!

He’s never excited to work the skate rental booth, even though he’s had to do it for the past three years. Since he’s on his college’s club hockey team, he’s obligated to help run the school ice rink, along with his teammates, once it opens to the public come December. He always picks handing out skates. It’s the most boring, for sure, but it’s also the easiest - that means he can study for finals at the same time. So while the other guys fight over who gets to drive the zamboni, he quietly and dutifully signs up for the skate rental booth, and leaves.

He also always signs up for early afternoon shifts; hardly anyone is there on the weekdays, which, again, means more time for studying. He doesn’t expect this fourth year to be any different.

Except when he arrives at noon on December 1st, there are about ten kids already skating around on the ice, their parents sitting in a cluster in the stands, talking and taking pictures on their phones.

“What’s up with all the kids?” he asks Eleanor - one of the rink custodians he’s come to recognize over the years - who’s sweeping around the rental booth. He throws his backpack on the counter as the older woman pauses her work and leans on her broom. She smiles gently as she looks out at the ice.

“One of the girls in the figure skating club wanted to give free lessons this year. So you’ll have some entertainment this year.”

He motions to his backpack.

“Brought my entertainment with me.”

“Well, this entertainment might be more  _ entertaining _ , and I heard,” she says, moving her hand beside her mouth so she can fake-whisper in his direction, “it might be a little easier on the eyes, too.”

He rolls his eyes, and Eleanor laughs.

“Are you going to try and set me up with someone every year?”

Last year she’d convinced a young woman who brought her niece skating on a regular basis to go over and talk to him. It had been  _ hmms _ and  _ yeahs _ and awkward pauses and forced laughs and had, decidedly, gone nowhere.

“I can only try, Steve. Don’t study too hard, okay?” she calls over her shoulder as she walks away.

He gives her a thumbs up in confirmation, and then sits down and gets out his books. He’s just about to put in headphones so he can drown out the Christmas music that plays throughout the arena at this time of year with some music of his own, but hears one of the heavy metal doors to the rink open noisily before he can hit play. A loud but melodic voice rings out in the almost-empty building.

“I’m here! Sorry I’m late!”

A young woman rushes in, racing past his table and throwing her bag in the bleachers, moving in such a hurry that he doesn’t get a good look at her until she takes the ice, gliding onto the slippery surface with ease.

Apart from her white skates and a deep purple scarf and matching gloves, she’s dressed in all black, long dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail. She’s tall - taller than most figure skaters he knows - and lean, but she’s strong. She must be, given her sport, but he can also tell in the way she’s carrying herself on the ice. He can’t see her full face - only her side profile - but he can tell she’s beautiful.

The children flock to her easily, a couple tripping in their eagerness to get to her. She skates over and helps them up. Then, she tells the children to circle around her - in that same melodic voice - and turns.

When he sees her face, looks into her deep brown eyes, his jaw goes slack.

She’s beautiful, undoubtedly. More than beautiful, he decides.  _ Breathtaking _ . He literally stops breathing for a moment, and his next inhale is a shaky one as his heartbeat speeds up.

Their gazes are still connected, so he notices when her eyes go from kind to questioning. He has a strange urge to get up and go to her, to take her hand and ask her gently what was wrong, when her voice sounds again.

“Is everything okay? Do I need to sign in or something?”

_ Shit, I’m staring _ .

He’s staring like an  _ idiot _ and he pulls his headphones out of his ears and briefly pretends to read the textbook in front of him before answering.

“Oh, uh, no. No, you’re fine. I just...I’ve never seen you before...around here.”

“Oh,” she says, still staring at him strangely, but now looking amused rather than confused. She smiles, and his thumping heart skips a beat. “I’m giving lessons at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays this December.”

It takes a moment to smile back, but when he does, he sees her relax a bit.

“Yeah, yeah. I, uh, figured,” he answers, stupidly, still stumbling over his words like an  _ idiot. _

She smiles once more, and then turns back to the kids around her.

“Okay guys! Who’s ready to learn to  _ skate _ ?”

A chorus of tiny voices answer her, and she skates to the middle of the ice surrounded by her small students. He watches, mesmerized, as she begins to move with all the seamless, effortless grace in the world. Studying is all but forgotten, and the beginnings of an enchanted smile turn up the corner of his lips.

“I told you it would be easy on the eyes, didn’t I?” a voice says from somewhere behind him.

“Shut up, Eleanor,” he says, still watching her, and the old custodian laughs.

* * *

He spends his weekend trying to muster up the courage to talk to her. It’s like every cliché movie ever; he stands in his bathroom and talks to himself in the mirror, trying to think of smooth lines and cool looks. He had looked like an idiot last Monday, and kept his sights on his books and avoided any more eye contact with her on Wednesday and Friday.

But it was a new week, a new day. And he couldn’t blow it again. He wouldn’t, he thought confidently as he rushed into the ice rink. It didn’t even matter that he was ten minutes late. He had  _ practiced _ .

Since he’s late, she and the kids are already on the ice. He sits down at the rental booth and pulls out his books, making a conscious effort to not look at her. He doesn’t want to seem  _ too _ eager. Playing it cool was of paramount importance. He even puts in his headphones, and presses play on his phone. The soothing music he uses to study begins to ring in his ears.

He opens one of his textbooks, and begins to read…

...And the next thing he’s aware of is the pound of a firm knock on the table in front of him. His eyes snap open, and he jumps slightly, disoriented and groggy.

He had fallen asleep.

He stayed up late the night before, completing study guides and endlessly highlighting his notes as he crammed for finals. He only got about four hours of sleep, but he thought he would be fine.

Apparently, he wasn’t. And now he had fallen asleep, and missed  _ her,  _ and now Eleanor was waking him up to tell him his shift was over or to tease him about sleeping on the job and - 

“Steve?”

The sound of his name wakes him up even more, and his heart leaps when he realizes that it’s not Eleanor’s voice calling to him. Instead, it’s the melodic one he’d first heard a week ago.

He looks up, and there she is. Her beautiful eyes stare down at him, the expression on her face puzzled but slightly amused.

“Steve?” she asks again, when he doesn’t say anything. “Steve Trevor, right?”

And he almost kicks himself. He’d been caught staring  _ again _ , and he can feel his cheeks begin to warm as he blushes in embarrassment.

_ No,  _ he tells himself.  _ Not again. Pull yourself together. You fucking  _ **_practiced_ ** _. _

He quickly tries to think of something to say, his brain reminding him to  _ play it cool _ on loop.

“How...how do you know my name?”

God, he’s so bad at this.

“Oh,” she says, lifting her hand and pointing her thumb over her shoulder. “That nice custodian woman told it to me. Eleanor, I think she said her name was?”

He sits up straighter so he can look past her body, and sees Eleanor by the doors to the locker rooms, waving at him cheerfully with a big smile on her face. He resists the urge to roll his eyes, looking back up at the young woman in front of him and smiling.

“Yeah, I’m Steve. Nice to meet you. It’s been fun watching you with the kids.”

_ Better _ , he thinks.  _ A little better _ .

She smiles brightly at the mention of her student.

“Yes, they’re wonderful. I’m having an amazing time with them.”

“Well, they seem to love you. You’re a great teacher.”

“Why, thank you, Steve Trevor,” she answers, her smile turning more gentle and kind. “You’ve only seen me teach for three days, though.”

“Four, now.”

“Ah, but you slept through the fourth day,” she reminds him, and his skin flushes again.

She laughs at his lack of response, and again, his heart skips a beat. He can’t help but smile.

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

They fall silent, and he’s briefly reminded of that girl Eleanor tried to set him up with last year, and all the awkward lurches and pauses that made up that conversation. This silence is different, though. It doesn’t make him nervous or uncomfortable, and he’s not scrambling for a way out of the interaction.

Instead, it feels warm. Somehow familiar, even though this is the first time they’ve ever spoken. And as they stare at each other, her chocolate eyes gazing into his ice blue ones, his smile grows.

“I was wondering if I could skate one of my programs while I was here,” she murmurs. “I have a test tonight, so I’ll miss my normal practice time.”

“Doesn’t seem like you’ll be disturbing anyone,” he says, motioning with his hand to the empty arena.

She laughs again, and he decides that it’s his new favorite sound.

“Thank you, Steve,” she tells him, and turns toward the ice.

“Wait!” he says, getting up from his booth and catching up with her. “Do you want me to play your music over the loudspeaker?”

Her eyes brighten.

“Could you? I was just going to use my phone, but that would be a lot better.”

“Sure. Just show me which track.”

She hands him her phone, and points it out to him. He grins.

“Hey, I know that song.”

She hums softly, and begins to walk again.

“Maybe,” she tells him as she steps out onto the ice, turning back to face him. “But I don’t think you’ve ever heard this version.”

She begins to skate backwards away from him, but his voice rings out again.

“I don’t know your name!”

“Diana,” she calls back to him, without stopping. “Diana Prince.”

“Diana,” he whispers, as he watches her skate away.

* * *

He falls half in love with her the first time he sees her skate.

The moment she begins to move to the first notes of the piano, she is the embodiment of elegance and grace. He rushes from the media booth and back down to the ice so he can get a closer look. Even through the glass, he can see emotion she puts into every moment of her performance, watches as the expression on her face changes as the music speeds up, as the mood shifts.

Then, the music slows, and becomes softer. She glides as if she’s one with both the ice and the music. And when the music speeds up again, and becomes more intense, so does she. Her jumps and twirls seem effortless, as she lands each one with a gentle precision.

He can’t look away. The entire arena is filled with her performance - with her effort and emotion and heart and skill - and he’s enchanted by her.

When she’s done, and holds her final pose at the center of the ice as the music comes to an end, he realizes he’s been holding his breath. He exhales slowly, and then takes a deep breath in.

Eleanor starts clapping from somewhere else in the building. She finally breaks from her pose, and looks over at her, smiling.

But all he can do is stare after her, mouth slightly open.

It’s only when she begins to get off the ice that he gathers himself. And he makes a decision.

He doesn’t care if he looks like an idiot, or if he’s being too obvious. He’s done trying to play it cool.

He can’t go another day without knowing her better.

He walks to where she’s standing over her gym bag, looking for her shoes. He taps her on the shoulder, acutely aware that this is the first time they’ve ever touched.

“Diana?”

She jumps slightly, and turns to look at him. She doesn’t say anything, though. It’s as if she knows why he’s here, and what he’s going to ask her.

“Will you get dinner with me Friday?”

She grins, her smile wider and brighter than he’s ever seen it.

“It would be an honor, Steve Trevor.”

She reaches up to where his finger still lingers on her shoulder, and places her hand over his.

* * *

The other half of him falls in love with her the first time they skate  _ together _ .

After their third date, he asks her to teach him how to skate.

“I thought you played hockey,” she tells him. “You already know how to skate.”

“Yeah, but I can’t skate like  _ you _ ,” he counters. “And since we already know you’re such a good teacher…”

She smiles as they walk around campus, looking at all the Christmas lights the school has put up, hand in hand.

“I know I’m not as cute as your other students - “

“I beg to differ,” she interrupts. “And would argue that sometimes, you’re even cuter.”

He blushes, and she laughs.

So they break into the arena. (Well, not technically. He  _ does _ have a key to the rink.) It’s around midnight when they get there, after everyone has already left for the evening. He gets them both skates out of the booth, and as they lace them up, she laughs.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to teach you to skate in  _ those things _ .”

“Hey,” he says, frowning. “Don’t knock my skates.”

He does have to admit, though, that there’s a marked aesthetic difference between his clunky, black hockey skates and her delicate, white figure skates.

“Come on,” she says, standing up and taking his hand so he came with her. “I  _ might  _ still be able to work my magic.”

They glide to the center of the ice, and she begins positioning his body, immediately going into teacher-mode. He thinks it’s absolutely  _ adorable _ . She says she’s going to teach him a  _ simple upright spin _ , but he has to admit that he’s not paying much attention because he can’t focus with her hands all over his body - on his hips, legs, chest, lower back, as she moves him in all sorts of directions. He can only take it so long before he pulls back from her.

She looks at him questioningly.

“Steve, what are you - “

He skates forward slightly, and kisses her.

He kisses her, and at first he’s worried he’s made a mistake because her lips remain still, but then she moans softly against his mouth, and melts into him. She throws her arms around her neck, and when his tongue swipes across her bottom lips she parts her mouth readily.

It’s his favorite kiss he’s ever had. And he doesn’t know how long they stay there like that, kissing and holding each other, but they break apart only when they have to, and breathe against each other heavily. They’re silent for a moment, but there’s a comfort in it, just like there was that day he first saw her skate.

“I thought you wanted to learn how to skate,” she says finally, jokingly.

“I do,” he ensures her. “But I think I want to do this a little more right now.”

She giggles, and the sound warms him from head to toe.

“I think we’re in agreement there,” she murmurs.

They smile and stare at each other, him pulling her impossibly closer, and her running her fingers gently down the side of his face.

And in that moment, he knows he loves her. The feeling consumes him, and he almost blurts it out right there. But he decides to keep it to himself for now, for it to be a happy secret that lives inside his heart. And instead, he does the thing he wants to do most in the world.

He leans forward, and kisses her again.

**Author's Note:**

> the song diana is skating to is the mashup of paradise and fix you by coldplay that maia and alex shibutani skated to for their long dance at the pyeongchang olympics. i strongly suggest you look it up if you've never seen it or heard it! not only will it give you a more complete idea of the fic, but it's a beautiful song and an extraordinarily beautiful program.
> 
> merry christmas to all who celebrate! i hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season!
> 
> xoxo,  
> rebekah


End file.
